Ianto's Last Secret
by Jooles34
Summary: Most people take their secrets to the grave with them, but not Ianto Jones. This is a post COE fic, but for this to work you do need to ignore the last four minutes of Day Five with Jack and Gwen on the hill. Will be seven chapters epilogue in total
1. Chapter 1

_**AN**__: This is set two – three weeks after COE. This is a short chapter, but is to serve as more of an introduction._

_For anyone awaiting an update to _Agents of Mercy_, the chapters are trapped inside my main computer which is currently dead. It will be continued as soon as I can rescue them._

Gwen paused at the door to the coffee shop, her hand braced on the handle for a moment. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The comforting, bitter aroma of coffee washed over her immediately and she inhaled it deeply, as if getting the fragranced air into her lungs could help heal her from the inside.

The world was starting to heal. Whitehall was still in chaos, though it was being hidden from the public well, but normal people where returning to their normal lives. The immediate threat was gone, the children were fine and everyday life was easy to slip back into. Made it all just seem like a bad dream; made it easier to forget.

Except in this little corner of Cardiff. Here, two families were grieving the loss of sons, a brother, an uncle. She was grieving. Rhys was grieving; although Gwen knew a lot of his grief was for her, sympathy for what she had lost.

And Jack...Gwen didn't have the words to describe what Jack was doing. It was like he had died himself. He'd left London as soon as he could and physically he was still here, but wandering; an aimless ghost lost in Cardiff. Not knowing where to be, but needing to be somewhere. He said he was back for her, but Gwen knew he wouldn't be around for long. An awful, horrible part of her would almost be glad. She could barely bring herself to look at him. It was like he was empty. Catching one glimpse of those normally shining eyes that were now dulled, hollow, bereft of humour, light or life, just broke her heart even more.

With a small shake of her head Gwen tried to clear the thought and ordered a large latte with caramel syrup. The ultimate comfort coffee. She stood by the counter scouting for a good table with her eyes while she waited for it to be ready.

A woman in the queue behind her ordered a blend of two beans as a double espresso, but served in a proper coffee cup, using hot water, not boiling.

Gwen's heart stopped beating inside her chest for a moment, but she tried to swallow the feeling and replace it with a fond smile. There was only one person she'd ever known who drank that coffee. He had that blend with those instructions every time they came here together, but it was always better when he made it himself.

But that was why she was here now. To try to start to put the demons to rest. To start to try to remember the good times. She had told Rhys she needed time alone; he wasn't happy about it, but trusted Gwen to know what was best for herself.

She picked up her coffee with a small smile at the barista, and went over to a table. Their team had so many memories here. So many early mornings that were in fact late night's for them. Stolen afternoons when they acted like normal co-workers who had coffee out at lunchtime. Times when the warmth and comfort they needed couldn't be found in the vastness of the Hub. Or sometimes, just because they all wanted to.

There were ghosts in this coffee house, but Gwen felt she needed to spend some time here with them.

She should have been surprised when the woman who had ordered his coffee came over and sat down opposite her at the table. But part of her, the been in Torchwood for too long for anything to surprise her anymore part, had been expecting it. She didn't even look up. The woman remained silent too, sipping at her coffee.

Finally Gwen broke the deadlock.

"That's his coffee. You shouldn't be drinking it. It should only be his." she said flatly.

"It's my coffee too. But it was always better when he made it." The woman's Welsh accented voice held an even, matter of fact tone, displaying no emotion, yet not being unpleasant. It was disturbingly familiar.

There was another long pause.

"Why do you have his coffee?"

"We shared everything. We were a part of each other; as one."

Gwen looked up sharply and gave her a glare that would have melted glass.

The woman didn't flinch, but added quickly with an urgent, reassuring tone; "Not in that way. No, that was Jack. It was only Jack."

Gwen let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She retreated back into silence for a while, sipping at her coffee while the woman opposite her did the same.

Once again it was Gwen who broke the stalemate. "You claim to have been so close, but Ianto never mentioned you to us."

"Yes, and Ianto never kept anything from you did he?" Gwen looked up, startled to hear such a familiar snark in her voice.

The woman's tone softened again. "I'm Ianto's last secret I promise. But I _am_ a pretty big one."


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN**__ – This is very short, and a bit of a tease, but you get a little more info and the next chapter does actually reveal all. Promise. ;o)_

_Thanks and cookies to Gwento-addict, silentjellyfish, Laurenke1, WickedWitchoftheSE and specialfrancine for your reviews. Thanks also to everyone who is following this._

Gwen ran her hands over her face in an attempt to keep in the sigh that wanted to escape. She was tired, so tired. She was emotionally and physically drained and this was just too much. She had come here to grieve, to spend time alone with memories of her friends, not to be an outlet for someone else's grief. The part of her mind that was trying to process the fact that Ianto had been keeping even more secrets from them was quickly shut off. It had hurt enough finding out about the lies he'd told about his Dad, she didn't need to be confronted by another one.

She just wanted to be alone; wanted to tell this woman to take her secrets, take the coffee that didn't belong to her, take her elusive statements and just go. But she didn't even have the energy to fight it.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She'd handle it like a copper. Methodical, detached. Find out what this woman's story was and go from there.

"Right," she said. "Let's start with your name."

"Carys Jones."

"Jones. Oh, this just gets better." Gwen lost her fight against the sigh. "It's too much to hope that it's just a very Welsh co-incidence isn't it?"

Carys gave a wry smile and Gwen once again felt a tug at the pit of her stomach as the face in front of her pulled itself into too familiar shapes.

"He could have chosen me any name in the Universe, and that's what he went for."

"At least it didn't rhyme." Gwen wasn't sure why she was making jokes with this woman, especially about him, like they were old friends, but she chose not to question herself any further.

There was another of those sly half smiles, half hidden as if the wearer was embarrassed of the action.

"Actually he used to call me the 'Jones Clone'."

Gwen's eyes widened for a moment before she squeezed them shut. She raised a hand to her head feeling the tiredness wash over her again. Carys placed a hand fleetingly on her arm.

"It's important that you listen to me Gwen. I'll get us another coffee and then I'll start from the beginning."


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN**__ – Thanks to __WickedWitchoftheSE, Laurenke1, specialfrancine, and VeeDub for your reviews, I'm so pleased people are enjoying this. Thank you._

When Carys returned Gwen lifted her head from where it had been resting on her folded arms. She gave the mug set in front of her a look of confusion.

"That's not coffee."

"No. You're pregnant. You've had enough coffee. It's hot chocolate. The proper stuff of course; made from actual chocolate. And look; I got you marshmallows on the top."

Gwen looked up, a fresh wave of sadness washing over her.

"That's the sort of thing he would have done. This is how it would have been isn't it? Ianto...he..." Gwen trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Carys gave her a small smile. "He would have loved you being pregnant, and yes he would have doted on you."

Gwen couldn't help but give a small smile herself. "Bloody hell, he would have driven me mad." The smile faded again. "But that's not what we're here to talk about is it?"

Carys covered Gwen's hand with her own and Gwen found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes that frightened her with their intensity and familiarity.

"No."

Gwen pulled back her had and took a sip of her hot chocolate. She peered at Carys over the top of the mug, trying to pretend she wasn't hiding behind it.

"The beginning then."

"The beginning. I am from a system many light years from Earth. The nearest translation for our name in your language is an Abstract. I was nothing more than a vessel and an inscription when Ianto came to me in the archives at Torchwood One. I was just a thought, a concept. I need to be believed in to become corporeal. You have a saying here that something has to be seen to be believed; I have to be believed to be seen. But no-one on this planet ever believes. I became a joke, an initiation among new staff. The number of people that opened my vessel but could never really believe...

"But Ianto believed in me. Amazing, open minded Ianto. All that faith, all that heart. He heard the rumours and sought me out and _believed_. And he made me exist. As his belief created me it formed an immediate psychic link between us. As long as he believed in me I would be. It also meant that I have all his thoughts; his feelings, his memories. I can have my own life, but I feel his too.

"He helped create me a life. Named me so I could be his sister. That was easy as I knew all about him; could adjust my form so I looked like him. Ianto made me fake documents and got me a job with Torchwood One. I lived with him and Lisa. No-one knew what I really was. When the battle came I was protected. Neither the daleks or the cybermen could get a fix on me or what I was, but knew I wasn't human, so left me alone. I managed to get to Ianto and we fought together. We tried to get to Lisa, but..."

Gwen held up a hand to interrupt. "You knew about Lisa? What happened to her in Canary Wharf?"

"Of course. Who do you think helped him? But after what you all did to her Ianto didn't trust anyone enough to tell them about me. Then when he did trust it had just gone on too long, so it was easier if I stayed a secret."

Gwen shook her head and ran her hands down her face again as the tiredness fell back on her shoulders. Why? Why had he kept so much from them? Why did it have to hurt so much? As if losing him wasn't bad enough, now she was finding out she barely knew the man that she had called friend. She couldn't take this. She wasn't ready for this.

"Why are you telling me this? Why aren't you telling Jack?"

"Because Jack isn't ready to hear this from me yet. He'd never trust me. He needs to hear it from you."

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm based on thought remember? I'm a telepath. I can read thoughts. It's not like you see in films, I can't hear you talking in your head. But I feel your emotions, your ideas, where you are headed and where you've been. That's how I experienced the funeral." She paused, a far away look coming into her eyes; pained, but almost pleased. "There was sorrow; _so_ much sorrow. But there was so much love."

"There were only seven people there." Gwen spat.

"But they loved him. He was so loved by you all. And he knew that." Carys gave Gwen a firm look; "But you are avoiding the point."

Gwen ignored the look. "You may think that Jack isn't ready, but what's to say I am? I lost him too."

"Because I can feel it Gwen. You are heartbroken, but you are not blinded by your grief. You have a life inside you that makes you realise you have to carry on. You know that one day, one day far away you will get past this. That's why you came here. You're ready to remember the good times, not just focus on the loss. And that's why you are the person that has to make this happen."

"I can't make anything happen. There is nothing left to happen."

"You're missing it Gwen. You're missing the most important thing of all."

"No." Gwen shook her head, her body deflating with a deep sigh. "No, I haven't missed it." she looked up. "I just don't know what to do about it." Her eyes held a look of desperation, she felt lost.

Carys reached out a hand to touch her. "You need to face it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Under the weight of her grief Gwen crept back into her denial as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Gwen. I exist purely because Ianto believed in me. As soon as he died I should have gone, the psychic link broken. But I'm still here Gwen Cooper. So somewhere, somehow, out there, there's still a little piece of Ianto; still existing, still being, still believing; just waiting to be found. If he still believes in me, then I still believe in him."

_**AN**__ - I admit, I was originally intending to end the fic here, intending it only as a hope fic rather than it having a proper resolution...but I've got carried away with the story and have got a far better response to it than I ever thought I would, so there is more coming..._

_Reviews and comments are loved as always._


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN_**_ – Thank you to all my reviewers and all those that have put alerts on this story. I am very behind in my thank yous and it is remiss of me; really doesn't mean that they don't mean a lot to me though, so thank you._

Gwen didn't take her eyes off Carys as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed one button.

"Jack. I need to see you. Now."

"Get him to meet us at the Hub."

Gwen stared at Carys. "There's nothing left."

"Trust me. Entrance to tunnel three."

Gwen gave her a quizzical look, then raised a hand as she listened to the phone before speaking.

"I'm with someone who has a lot of information about..." she hesitated over the name, it was still so hard to say; "Ianto. She says she can help us. I think you need to hear her out Jack."

There was a pause as the voice on the other end of the line spoke.

"Then trust _me_ Jack. Please. She says to meet us at the Hub... I know, that's what I said."

"Entrance to tunnel three." Carys interjected again.

"Jack, please. She says entrance to tunnel three? That mean anything to you?...Really? Well if she knows that Jack then...Thank you."

She hung up the phone and leant forwards across the table, leaning in close to Carys. "If you do anything to hurt Jack I will kill you."

"I can't be killed, but I appreciate the sentiment. We'd better get going."

Carys stood and headed towards the door, leaving Gwen speechless for a second, before getting up and following her.

Carys didn't seem to want to talk as they walked to meet Jack, and Gwen was content to let the journey pass in silence. They were heading in the general direction of the Hub, but skirting around the outside. A lot about all of this troubled Gwen, but what really played on her mind was that this woman clearly knew more about Torchwood than she did. It made perfect sense if Carys knew everything Ianto had. She'd always known that Ianto knew more about the Hub than she did; known it and happily accepted it, but she didn't have to like it now.

And she didn't like that she was having to follow Carys to an entrance to the place that had been like home to her for years that she hadn't known about. But follow she did.

Carys led her down a small alley and stopped next to a nondescript wooden door. It was nondescript, but Gwen knew it let to the back of a nightclub. And a seedy one at that.

A small smile twitched at Carys' lips as she stood in front of the door. "Jack's already inside. He wants to see if I can get in."

Carys looked at Gwen, a smug smile on her face and pulled at the door handle. The door swung outwards to reveal a short, dingy hallway that led to the back rooms of the club. Carys closed it again then pushed on the opposite side of the door to the handle. This time the door swung inwards into a concrete lined corridor with a very surprised Jack standing on the other side.

"How...?" started Gwen.

"No idea. But it's cool isn't it?"

Carys sobered up again and looked at the man in front of her.

"Hello Jack. I'm Carys. And I'm going to help you get Ianto back."

"No. You can't. Nothing can bring him back." His voice was hard, but emotionless.

"Jack, are you familiar with the Abstracts?"

Jack didn't reply, but a faint twitch of his head showed that he was.

"I am an Abstract. Ianto was my Former."

Jack's eyes narrowed.

"Ianto gave you form?"

"Yes. Back at Torchwood One."

"Then you should be..." Jack couldn't finish the sentence, trying to get his head around what he was hearing.

"Exactly. There is a spark of his life force left somewhere." A broad smile stretched Carys' face. "And it's here, in the Hub. I can feel it."


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN**__ – Thank you Laurenke1__, __specialfrancine__, __WickedWitchoftheSE__, silentjellyfish, __VeeDub__, __TwiCloiser89__, and Fullmetal Embers for your reviews,they really mean a lot. Thank you also to everyone to is following this story. Here's a little bit more…_

"But," Gwen's voice came from behind Carys, "there's nothing left of the Hub."

Carys' eyes didn't leave Jack. "Come on Jack. Tell me you haven't thought about it."

"Had other things on my mind." Jack's voice was still flat; still suspicious.

"Then think about it now. Victorian engineering, reinforced to withstand bombing during the War, and it's Torchwood. You know the lower levels; the archives, the cells, were built to keep things out as well as in. There's a very good chance they are intact. Look at how much of the blast was directed upwards."

"How do you know all this?"

Carys rolled her eyes and tried to keep her sigh of frustration inside.

"I told you. Ianto was my Former, _is_ my Former. I know everything that he knows. He knew everything about this place." She raised a meaningful eyebrow at Jack. "_Everything_. Do you want me to prove it?"

"Jack, please?" interrupted Gwen. "Could she be right? Could there be some Hub left? And if she is who she says she is, isn't it worth taking the risk?"

Jack ignored her. "If you know everything Ianto knows and you say he's alive somewhere how come you don't know where?"

Again Carys tried to keep her tone neutral. It was frustrating, but she had anticipated this. "I didn't say he was alive, just that there is some of his life force somewhere. There must be something because I'm still here, but it's not enough. If he doesn't know where he is, then I don't know. I guessed it would be most likely something in the Hub as it's not like you don't have a lot of weird shit here, but it's not something he knew had happened or I would know that too. But being here now...it's close; I can feel it. Jack please."

"Jack?" Gwen pleaded again, and urgency in her voice. "We have to try."

"Fine." Jack said, tight-jawed after a pause. "We'll head in and see what we can find."

He turned and stalked off down the corridor. Gwen moved past Carys and followed him, eager to see if there was anything of the Hub that could to be salvaged. She needed something, anything. She just needed something to remain, to be the same.

Carys paused for a beat before following them. This was actually proving easier than she had expected.

Jack led them to the end of the corridor where it opened into a T junction. Jack turned left and Gwen followed. Carys ignored them and turned right, walking away from them.

"Really Jack, I expected you test me, but I thought you'd be a little more inventive than that."

She continued to walk and waited for Jack and a slightly confused Gwen to catch her up.

"Okay then," said Jack, "you want to be tested. Fine. How old was Ianto when Lisa died at Canary Wharf?"

Carys snorted. "Oh Jack that's even worse. And be careful about bringing up Lisa around me. Shared thought remember? I loved her as much as he did."

"You helped Ianto save her didn't you?" Jack's tone was accusing, but with a tone that indicated sudden understanding.

Carys stopped dead and turned to face him, anger flashing across her face. "And I carried on helping him when you sent him home alone after killing her!"

Jack stopped as well, nose to nose with Carys. "You were there? At his house? You couldn't have been. I visited often and I never saw you."

Carys gave a twisted grin. "When you're not shielding your thoughts like you have been since we came in here, your brain is very loud. I could hear you coming from streets away. It gave me plenty of time to get out before you arrived. Are you done?"

Without waiting for an answer Carys turned and walked away. Gwen stood, frozen to the spot at the exchange. She wanted to follow Carys; she wanted to be back in the Hub, see it, feel it, touch it, know something was still there. And she wanted to believe that they could get Ianto back. But she couldn't leave Jack; couldn't go against him. Not now.

Jack watched Carys go. He didn't like this. He couldn't let himself believe this. But he wasn't stupid. He knew of the Abstracts, he knew how they existed. And as much as he tried to ignore it, there was no denying the similarities to Ianto this woman had. But he couldn't let himself believe. Not really. But he would try. For Gwen, and for Ianto, he would try.

They continued to follow Carys along the corridors until she paused at a door. She took a deep, unnecessary, but bourn out of habit, breath, and opened it.

The archives. They were in the first level of the archives.

It was a mess. Boxes, files and artefacts were strewn across the floor. The room's infrastructure may well have been intact, but it had obviously felt the affects of the blast.

The three of them stood and looked around at the chaos in silence. Gwen spoke first.

"I'm trying to decide if he would throw a fit right now or enjoy the prospect of getting to reorganise."

"He'd throw a fit and secretly relish the prospect of reorganising." Carys replied with a small smile.

"Are we going to joke or are we going to do this?" asked Jack, pushing into the room.

"Sorry Jack." said Gwen. She followed him into the room and stood looking around. "But what do we do? Where do we start?"

"Just start going through things. We're looking for anything that could potentially hold or capture someone's life force."

Gwen looked around the room again. "It could take weeks in this mess."

"We'd better get started then."

The three of them worked together for hours in near silence. They methodically worked their way through the artefacts that littered the floor as well as the ones that were still on the shelves. Carys had left them at one point, saying nothing more than "Won't be long." She had returned half an hour later with pizza, coffee and a selection of cold drinks. The others had taken them wordlessly, both too afraid that their voices would betray them if they tried to thank her.

They worked through until the early hours of the morning. They investigated a large assortment of items, but none of them were what they were looking for and all it did was show just how long a job they had ahead of them.

Carys suddenly realised what she had ceased to pay attention to. She didn't need food or coffee or sleep, they were things she did out of habit to blend in. But the others did; even Jack, and she should have been concentrating on their needs. She put down the artefact she was holding.

"We should stop for a bit. You two get some rest. I can carry on and you can join me in the morning."

Jack grunted. "I'm fine. I'll keep going."

"I'll stay too." Gwen said.

Carys could feel the emotions rolling off Gwen like a wave, but knew she was too proud, too stubborn to voice them.

"Gwen, go home. Go to Rhys. He's going to need to see you; see that you're okay."

Relief fell from Gwen. "You're right. He'll be worried. I'll be back. First thing, I'll be back."

Jack barely glanced up as she left.

Gwen rose early, after just a few hours sleep, and headed back to the Hub. She picked up coffee and pastries on the way, half wondering if Carys would have beaten her to it. Ianto would have done and it was already apparent she was trying to take on his role for them.

Following the maze of corridors back to the archives she stepped into the first room. There was no sign of Jack or Carys. She heard a slight noise to her left and turned to see the door to a side room open.

Gwen's eyes opened wide and the coffees fell from her hands as she stared at the ghost in front of her.

In response to the noise Ianto's head snapped up in her direction.

"Gwen, wait, it's not what it looks like."


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN**__ - Thank you once again for all the reviews, comments and follows. They are loved as always._

Ianto looked as immaculate as ever in his suit and Gwen stared as the troubled look on his face remained even as his features rearranged themselves and the figure dissolved in front of her to become Carys.

"Gwen, I want you to stay calm." Carys held her hands out in front of her in a gesture aimed to pacify.

"What the hell was that?" Calm was no longer an option for Gwen. Her voice raised along with her temper. Her emotions, battered enough in the last three weeks, had been pushed and stretched even further in the last 24 hours and she had had enough. Now suddenly she was seeing Ianto, but really it was Carys. No. Calm was not an option.

"Gwen, please lower your voice, Jack's asleep."

"I will not lower my...asleep?"

"Yes. Next door. He finally fell asleep a little while ago, but he was having nightmares. He's had so many nightmares. He barely sleeps now, even less than normal. I couldn't bare it; seeing him like that. I transformed into Ianto to sooth him. When he wakes again he'll just think it was a dream; just a good one for once."

"You can do that? You can just change the way you look and sound?"

"Into Ianto's form yes."

"Then why don't you? Why don't you just help us all and do that? You could make this all go away for us. You said yourself you have his thoughts and memories; now you say you can look like him! Why don't you do this for us?" A niggling voice that went ignored told Gwen she was being irrational, but her need for things to be put right fuelled her anger.

Her anger was mirrored by Carys who snapped at her.

"And how would that help me?" she growled.

Gwen stopped, pulled short, her eyes wide with shock.

Carys lowered her eyes and paused to steady her voice.

"I've never had to do this before. Whenever my Former has died, I've gone back to my Abstract form; no emotion, no concerns. But this time I'm still here and I'm having to grieve. And it _hurts_. It really hurts Gwen. I need Ianto back for me as much as you need him for you and Jack." Her eyes swam with tears as she turned her gaze back to Gwen. "I need him back Gwen, and me pretending to be him won't help that. It won't help you either."

Gwen wasn't ready to give up on the argument. Feeling angry was better than the constant hurt and ache in her heart.

"So then why did you just do it for Jack? You just did that to make him feel better. Why would you do..." she paused suddenly. "Wait. You said yesterday that you have Ianto's feelings so you loved Lisa. That means that you..."

"Don't." Carys interrupted sharply. "Don't say it."

"Oh my god. His grief. It's hard enough for me to see, but you..."

"Gwen! Please!"

"Okay, I'm sorry." Gwen raised her hands in a sign of surrender. "Let's get on shall we eh? See what we can get done before Jack wakes up."

Carys gave a curt nod and turned back to the strewn artefacts.

A little while later Carys looked up from her pile of artefacts.

"Jack's waking up. I'll go and replace those coffees."

She stood and left, and moments later Jack emerged from the side room. Gwen had to admit that he looked more rested than she had seem him the last few weeks. He gave her a small smile, before looking around for Carys.

"She's gone for coffee. You got some sleep then?"

Jack gave another small smile, like he knew a secret he wasn't willing to share.

"Yeah. Looking forward to coffee though."

Gwen smiled back. She picked up the bag of pastries she had brought with her. They were a bit squashed from being dropped, but edible. "Shall we start on these while we wait?"

Jack came and sat next to Gwen, taking a pastry from the offered bag. He leant close into Gwen, resting his head against hers for a moment. "Thank you."

Gwen felt everything that was meant on those two small words and that touch and blinked back the tears that suddenly sprang into her eyes.

They ate in silence for a few while until Carys returned with coffee. She sat down next to them, forming a triangle on the floor.

"Pastry?" Gwen offered her the bag.

"No thank you. You have them."

"If you don't need to eat why do you drink coffee?"

Carys gave a little laugh. "I came into world with Ianto's mind and have lived with him for years. My body may not need the caffeine, but the addiction is still there. I never stood a chance. And you can't beat a good cup of coffee."

Jack and Gwen both murmured their agreement and they continued their breakfast in silence once again, but this time there was a more companionable feeling to their quietness. It was more of a lack of need to talk than just because they had nothing to say.

As they finished Jack said, "We'd better get back to it."

"One question." said Gwen, "What do we do when we find it?"

Jack and Carys both stilled. Jack gave Carys a hard look, daring her to answer.

"When we find it we find a body to host it and a way to transfer it." Carys saw no point in hiding the truth at this point.

Gwen looked at them both in surprise. "We find a body?" she said incredulously.

Jack continued to look at Carys.

"Or we use her."

Gwen withdrew a little as she felt the atmosphere suddenly change again.

"We can't use me. This form isn't meant to be inhabited by a human life. And it would push me out. I'm not ready to die." Carys' voice was hard.

"Then why are you here?" Jack's voice was little more than a growl.

"Because I want Ianto back. It wasn't his time. He shouldn't have died." Carys spoke through clenched teeth, her mouth contorted in something akin to a snarl.

The silence descended thick and heavy again; Jack momentarily looking like he had been slapped in the face. He stood wordlessly and stalked away. Carys squeezed her eyes shut and swore to herself. She felt animosity radiating from Gwen and kicked herself for taking things so far. She remained still as Gwen got up and left her too.


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN**__ – I'm sorry, but I've been away (watching Blue Gillespie rock the hell out of Manchester!) so I haven't had time to reply to your lovely comments, but thought you would just like this posted. Thank you to everyone who comments and to all who alert the story. It means a lot. Just the epilogue to come after this…_

Jack stalked to the other side of the room, anger boiling inside him. But he couldn't take it out on Carys. She had only said what he felt; what he believed; what kept him awake every night. _One_ of the things that kept him awake at night.

Distracted by his thoughts and his anger Jack failed to notice the red warning sticker on the artefact he was idly turning over in his hands. He barely registered the slight movement of a switch under his finger or the tiny click that came from it.

But he did feel the sting of the dart as it punctured the skin of his neck.

He cried out and stood up, dropping the artefact. He staggered backwards as Gwen and Carys both leapt to their feet at the sound of his cry. Carys moved quicker and caught Jack as he fell. She lowered them both to the floor holding Jack on her lap, cradled in her arms. Carys saw the dart in his neck and quickly pulled it out.

"Poison." she said.

Gwen ran for the door, "I've got a med kit in my car. It's got universal antidotes."

"No point." gasped Jack. "Dying."

Gwen stopped by the door, but couldn't bring herself to return to them. Even though she knew Jack would come back she couldn't bring herself to watch the death of someone else she loved; not again. No matter how temporary.

"He's going." said Carys.

"He'll be back." answered Gwen.

"No. No, I mean Ianto. He's going; fading. I can feel it."

The strength left Gwen and she choked on a sob as she sank to the floor in despair.

Carys grabbed Jack's face and forced him to look at her. She searched his eyes.

"Jack. What happened when Ianto died?" she said urgently.

Jack shook his head, his eyes filling with tears, the hope of finding Ianto again fading; knowing once again he would come back to life to face a world without him. He just wanted to die and stay dead. But that would never happen.

"Jack, it's important. In Thames House did you try anything? Did you try to save him like you did from Lisa?"

Jack's tears came more freely. "Tried. Too late. I was half dead."

"But you tried?"

"Failed." Jack shook his head again miserably, getting weaker; breathing getting harder.

"He's in _you_ Jack. It's _you_. When you tried to save him, when he died, the last of his life force went into you. But if you die again now, he'll die with you. But he won't come back."

Gwen put her head in her hands. It was too much. They had been so close. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

"Gwen." Carys spoke gently, "It's okay Gwen. It really is."

Gwen looked up and watched through tear blurred eyes as Carys transformed herself into Ianto's form, perfect pin-striped suit and all. She was even wearing Ianto's favourite blood red shirt. Carys smiled with Ianto's face.

"Goodbye Gwen."

Carys pulled Jack even closer to her and put her hands back onto his face. She closed her eyes and suddenly her head was thrown back and she started to scream.

Gwen watched mutely as the scream changed pitch from the higher tones of Carys to the lower timber of the cry she had heard too many times from Ianto.

She stared open mouthed and wide eyed as the scream faded and the figure in front her lowered their head and opened their eyes to stare at Jack.

Something flittered across Jack's face and with a last sigh he died.

Ianto continued to look down at the dead man in his arms and then turned to look at a stunned Gwen.

"So. It's business as usual then?"


	8. Epilogue

_**AN**__ – Well, here it is….the end… _

_Thanks to everyone again who has read, commented and followed. Your comments really mean a lot to me. Thank you._

Ianto almost collapsed under the force of Gwen, who, recovering from the shock, flew across the room to him. She threw her arms around his neck, holding onto him as if it was her life that depended on it. Pulling back she cupped his face in her hands and stared into his eyes.

She didn't even need to voice her question.

"It's me Gwen, I promise. It's me."

Gwen's eyes were filled with tears and the pair just stared at each other for a moment, grinning madly. They were torn from each other by the man between them gasping into life.

Gwen reached out a hand to grasp Jack's shoulder.

"It's Ianto, Jack. It's really him." The joy escaped her in every syllable she uttered.

Jack stared up at Ianto, wanting so hard to believe, but not quite able to bring himself to. He tried to talk but emotion trapped the words in his throat. The word "Ianto" formed on his lips but got no further. But Ianto didn't need words. He leaned forwards and pressed his lips to Jack's, making sure that the other man felt every ounce of emotion that was coursing through his body and would be left in no doubt that this was his Ianto, back, here with him.

Gwen sat back on her heels giving the pair some space, but not being able to bring herself to move too far from them. As Ianto pulled back from Jack the pair held each other's gaze, but Jack reached out a hand to grasp Gwen's. His other was fisted tightly in Ianto's jacket, with Ianto holding on just as tightly back.

Seeing Jack's touch for the invitation it was Gwen happily moved to hold onto Ianto again. She needed to feel him; feel that he was real; really there.

Jack was still staring at Ianto, his gaze returned, still unable, or unwilling to say anything, just content seeing and being with the man that he loved.

"Ianto," Gwen said softly. "Do you know what's happened to you?"

Ianto nodded and swallowed thickly. "Yes. I do. I can't really explain it, but yes. I know I died. But I know I'm back now." He finally tore his gaze from Jack and looked at Gwen. "I have the feeling though like..." His voice trailed off and his gaze suddenly shifted to the middle distance. He shook his head as if to clear it. "It's nothing really."

"Coffee." said Jack suddenly. Both Ianto and Gwen turned to stare at him. "We need to get Ianto coffee."

"Jack, I really don't need to have co..." he paused again, and his focus shifted minutely before he continued. "You're right. We should have coffee. We're Torchwood; it's what we do."

Gwen shook her head even as a laugh escaped her mouth, "Post-operation coffee. You're right; it's tradition." Heaven forbid they actually talk about anything.

They walked quietly to the coffee shop, not really speaking, just smiling and laughing together; no words were suitable for the complete joy of this moment. Ianto walked between Jack and Gwen and they each had a death grip on him, as if they feared that if they let him go he would vanish from them again. Entering the shop for the second time in as many days Gwen approached the counter to order as Jack and Ianto weaved their way to a table. Before he sat down Ianto excused himself and headed for the small bathroom.

Closing and locking the door behind him, Ianto looked at himself in the mirror, arms folded, a wry expression on his face.

"You know, for this to work and for it not to get too crowded in there, you're going to have to learn to stop talking over me. It's hard enough dealing with suddenly being a telepath."

He paused, then smiled warmly at his reflection.

"Of course I'm grateful, and yes Carys, I'm glad you're still here."

He paused again, his smile turning into a knowing grin as he smoothed down his suit and pulled at his cuffs.

"Oh, they'll figure out the immortal body thing themselves in a minute."

The unmistakable sound of coffee cups shattering against a wooden floor came from the other side of the door.

"See?"

With a final twist of his tie Ianto walked back out into the coffee shop.

_**AN**__ – So, there is it. I hope you enjoyed it. I know from LJ that a couple of people found the end confusing as it refers to other parts earlier in the story posted ages ago, so if you have any questions feel free to ask._

_Also, I am thinking of taking the newly immortal telepath Ianto forward in some more stories. Any comments or suggestions are gratefully received_

_Thanks_

_Jooles_


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